#machir

[mammoth-clangen]

It makes me so happy to see how passionate you are about paleo!! That kind of dedication is so lovely to engage with

Oh I'm glad! I worry I'm rambling aimlessly so knowing that at least some people are enjoying it is nice to hear c:

For some paleo related fun, here's a huge Eurasian Pleistocene Big Cat sketchdump from 2023 when I was brainstorming for White Cat, Gold Plains

I still like a lot of these, though I was obviously trying to lean more into realism than I do in Kindred Also they're not Fleet Fangs, they're a different species within the same genera, Homotherium latidens and Panthera (leo) spelaea

Past me was some kind of madlad trying to put spots on things, no wonder the comic died after 10 pages c':

[pencilpavlova]

tfw you see someone you haven't talked to since primary school

Just having a fun time trying to shoot sabercats with the baby-fication ray. I have decided they all have blue eyes as freshly minted cubs, because I can uvu

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jacob is Buried

1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel; 3 forty days were required for it, for so many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am about to die: in my tomb which I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.’ Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father; then I will return.” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household; only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; it was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named A′bel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them; 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field at Mach-pe′lah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, 17 ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Fear not, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he reassured them and comforted them.

Joseph’s Last Days and Death

22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23 And Joseph saw E′phraim’s children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manas′seh were born upon Joseph’s knees. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; but God will visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, “God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. — Genesis 50 | Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 13:15; Genesis 23:16; Genesis 27:41; Genesis 30:3; Genesis 37:8; Genesis 37:26-28; Genesis 41:43; Genesis 42:21-22; Genesis 45:5; Genesis 45:11; Genesis 46:4; Genesis 47:12; Genesis 47:29-30; Genesis 49:33; Genesis 50:15; Exodus 1:6; Numbers 20:29; Numbers 32:39; Deuteronomy 34:8; Matthew 26:12; Matthew 27:60; Mark 16:1; Acts 8:2; Acts 7:16; Hebrews 11:22

Trusting God's Direction for Our Lives

[walkwithgod07]

50 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:

13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.

24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

[mariacallous]

This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox, click here.

Our last thoughts before sleep and our first thoughts upon waking have a powerful impact on our minds. This may be why Judaism instructs us at bedtime to dwell on the central Jewish creed, the Shema, and shortly after we rise to recite the prayer Elohai Neshama, thanking God for our divine and incorruptible souls.

Around the year 1600, Rabbi Moshe Machir, a kabbalist living in Safed, added a new suggestion that really caught on: In the morning, say Modeh Ani (“I am grateful”).

I’ve heard it said that gratitude is the doorway to abundance. Whether or not an attitude of gratitude really opens us to receiving more of what we want, it certainly helps us appreciate more of what we have, thereby increasing our sense of life’s abundance. Gratitude also increases our recognition of interconnectedness. Instead of seeing ourselves as isolated individuals surviving on our own merits, we notice our relationality and our interdependence — in reality, our dependence. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes, “Thankfulness has an inner connection with humility. It recognizes that what we are and what we have is due to others.”

Etymologically, this is actually implied by the word modeh. Usually translated as “thanks,” the word is related to the Hebrew word for confession: viddui. To give thanks is really to admit something — that all we have is a gift. Judah, the biblical figure whose name gives rise to the word Judaism, is another etymological relation, suggesting that gratitude is central to living a Jewish life.

Interestingly, Judah’s Hebrew name, Yehuda, also contains the tetragrammaton, our most sacred name of God, augmented by the Hebrew letter dalet. As the Hasidic masters explain, the dalet has a numerical value of four and represents physicality — the four elements, the four directions. It is through the addition of the dalet that the ineffable and uncontainable divine can enter the realm of physicality. Dalet is also the Hebrew word for door, and even looks a bit like an open door when written. Judah’s name thus not only records his mother’s gratitude for his birth (Genesis 29:35), but hints at how thankfulness itself is a doorway to welcoming spirit into matter.

Contemporary research delineates three different levels of gratitude, each more substantial than the last. The most basic is the episode, an event or experience for which we are fleetingly thankful. More sustained is a mood of appreciation. But the most powerful and perhaps aspirational is to have gratitude as a consistent and lasting state, a baseline for our experience.

How can we cultivate this degree of gratitude? One suggestion is to keep a journal in which we record the things for which we are grateful each day. The traditional Jewish recommendation of making 100 blessings each day can be seen in a similar light. By regularly counting our blessings, priming ourselves to notice the sustenance and grace on which we depend, we might encourage more frequent moods of gratitude, and from these perhaps develop a consistently grateful state. Curiously, it is the 100th psalm that is designated as mizmor l’todah, the song of gratitude, and it is this psalm that instructs us to “serve God with joy.” Although distinct, joy and gratitude are closely related, as it is hard for anger to co-exist with either.

The idea of serving with joy adds another clue to how we can develop into full-time grateful beings. As gratitude educator Kerry Howells writes: “We traditionally think of gratitude as the warm feeling of thanks, but it actually has its most transformative impact if we move from what we are grateful for to expressing this in action. In other words, gratitude is not just an emotion that makes us feel good. When we express our gratitude by serving others or contributing to those around us, we are motivated to live our lives in the spirit of gratitude.”

For all its white-washing of some very violent history, the holiday of Thanksgiving puts this idea neatly into focus. On this holiday, Americans cultivate gratitude not just in the abstract, but by enacting customs of giving — most prominently by inviting family and friends to feast, and for many celebrants by providing food to the less fortunate. On this day, we literally put the giving into Thanksgiving.

A final thought: The Hebrew root of modeh has an underlying meaning, to throw or cast. Brown-Driver-Briggs, the standard biblical Hebrew dictionary, speculates that the connection between throwing and thanking originates “perhaps from gestures accompanying the act.” When we are truly grateful, we reach out our hands to pay it forward.

[scotianostra]

On October 6th 1918 H.M.S. Otranto sank in Machir Bay off north western Islay after a collision in fog with another troop ship, HMS Kashmir.

431 lives are lost: 80 members of the British crew and 351 US servicemen.

Many of these sinking's during war time were covered up due to the sensitive nature of the losses, it's a shame that nowadays they are not well known.

The Otranto was part of a convoy carrying US soldiers to war when it encountered the storm off Islay's Atlantic coastline.

As they approached the west coast of Scotland in near hurricane conditions, it was accidentally rammed by another ship in the convoy.

The HMS Kashmir ripped the Otranto's steel hull wide open.

But the Kashmir and the rest of the convoy sailed on, under orders not to give assistance for fear of U-boat attack.

Despite the weather, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mounsey came to the rescue and made several passes in heavy seas to come alongside the Otranto.

Much praise has been heaped on the people of Islay who were faced with the horrors of war arriving on their shores for the second time that year.

They worked with compassion and humanity to ensure those who survived the Otranto tragedy were cared for as though they were their own, and those who sadly died were buried with dignity and respect.

After the War ended in November 1918, many bodies were disinterred and sent home for reburial, or were reburied in Surrey, England. In December 1918, the American Red Cross erected a stone monument on the rocky promontory called Mull of Oa, on the Isle of Islay in memory of the Americans who lost their lives on the Otranto and Tuscania, a troop ship sank by a German U-boat in 1914.

Pics show Islanders searching in the wreckage for bodies of victims of the US troopship and the funeral of the victims of the Otranto at Kilchoman on Islay. The third photo is of American Monument Mull of Oa, Isle of Islay

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

15th July >> Mass Readings (USA)

Saturday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

and

Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor.

Saturday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the feria (Saturday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land.

Jacob gave his sons this charge: “Since I am about to be taken to my people, bury me with my fathers in the cave that lies in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing on Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and so are Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there, too, I buried Leah– the field and the cave in it that had been purchased from the Hittites.”

Now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful and thought, “Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now plans to pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!” So they approached Joseph and said: “Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: ‘You shall say to Joseph, Jacob begs you to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you so cruelly.’ Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we, the servants of your father’s God, committed.” When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears. Then his brothers proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, “Let us be your slaves!” But Joseph replied to them: “Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children.” By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them.

Joseph remained in Egypt, together with his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years. He saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation, and the children of Manasseh’s son Machir were also born on Joseph’s knees.

Joseph said to his brothers: “I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, “When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up with you from this place.” Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7

R/ Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

R/ Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly.

R/ Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

R/ Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

Gospel Acclamation 1 Peter 4:14

Alleluia, alleluia. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 10:24-33 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.

Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------

Saint Bonaventure, Bishop, Doctor 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Ephesians 3:14-19 To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

Brothers and sisters: I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

How shall a young man be faultless in his way? By keeping to your words.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

With all my heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commands.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

In the way of your decrees I rejoice, as much as in all riches.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 23:9b, 10b

Alleluia, alleluia. You have but one Father in heaven; you have one master, the Christ. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 23:8-12 The greatest among you must be your servant.

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: “Do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[fordecree7]

BIBLE TIME

NUMBERS 36

Marriage of Female Heirs

36 The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel. 2 They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

5 And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph is right. 6 This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. 7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”

10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers. 12 They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.

13 These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Bible Time- Numbers 36 Diane Beauford

[the-beginning-of-somewhere]

Following up on the promised Jewish history for @misguidedandperplexed. This will be a brief history of the origins of the Israelites and Judaism from a secular, historical viewpoint. Sources will be linked, although some of them are behind paywalls.

Around the year 1200 BCE, there was a mass destruction of empires around the Levant and Mediterranean, known as "The [Late] Bronze Age Collapse." (a) The period after the Bronze Age Collapse until the 6th century BCE (500s), is called the Iron Age. It is in this time period that the Israelites emerge in the Levant.

Ann Killebrew, whose work I'm citing, defines the term "ethnogenesis" as "a coming together of peoples from diverse backgrounds into a single tribal group which shares a belief in a common descent and ideology" (b). What we want to establish is how and when Israelite ethnogenesis took place.

There are a few theories about this. One is that early Israelites were “seminomadic” people who spent summers in the Judean Hills and gradually developed a sense of community with the few Canaanites already living there, eventually permanently settling in the hills. This is perhaps the closest of the newer models to the biblical narrative, in that a people originally moving across a desert over a long period of time arrived in modern Israel/Palestine and built their own settlements, sometimes clashing with the people there as they expanded their territory. (b)

The most likely theory, in my opinion, is that early Israelite society was made of both Canaanite peasants and farmers and “displaced peasants and pastoralists”, including the peoples from the deserts surrounding modern Israel/Palestine. It also allows for small groups of slaves running from Egypt to have joined the people of the hills, which would provide an excellent basis for the Exodus story, despite it not happening exactly as written in the Bible. (b)

Whatever theory we use, we have to account for the missing Patriarchs. It seems unlikely that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's sons ever existed in real life, but their names refer to real tribes of the early Iron Age. The Israelite tribes of the early Iron Age don't match with the ones we know today, exactly. (c) Early texts, notably the Song of Deborah, include references to the tribes of Gilead and Machir, and exclude several of the usual tribes. This is evidence of a degree of “fluidity” in the early Iron Age I, as the tribes were still in the process of becoming distinct entities; the list of tribes seems to have solidified by the time the tribes came together in the 10th-9th centuries BCE. (d)

Okay we're out of the Joshua/Judges period! Next up: Monarchies.

You may have seen the claim that the first Israelite monarchy arose in 1047 BCE and lasted until it split into the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south, somewhere in the middle of the 900s BCE. The 1047 number is almost definitely untrue, but it's harder to say whether or not the United Monarchy (as the theorized first monarchy is known) really existed (e). It certainly did not exist in the grandeur that is depicted in the Tanakh. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to skip to the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel in the northern region of Israel/Palestine (called Cana'an at the time), which did occur sometime in the 800s BCE (f), and was followed by the Kingdom of Judah to the south shortly thereafter. In 722 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire, and the remainder of the Israelite population of the Northern Kingdom was absorbed into the Southern Kingdom. In 587-586 BCE, the Southern Kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians and the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, which began the Babylonian Exile, in which the Israelites were carted off to Babylon. (g)

And now that we're in the Exile, it's finally time to talk about Judaism!

Up until the Babylonian Exile, the Israelites were henotheistic -- that is, they believed there were multiple gods, but worshipped only one. There is debate over which god they worshipped where and when, but to simplify, the god that emerged in Cana'an during this time was known as yud-hey-vav-hey (YHWH, in English letters). YHWH had merged with another god, Ba'al, from the Cana'anite pantheon, and had then merged again with the Cana'anite god El; we aren't sure where YHWH came from. Suffice to say, by the time of the Exile, the Israelites were a sacrificial cult that worshipped the god of the Israelites, YHWH, by sacrificing to YHWH at the Temple in Jerusalem. This is called Yahwism or simply Israelite Religion by modern scholars. (h)

And then, the Temple was destroyed, and the Israelites found themselves in diaspora, away from their sacred site. This is the period in which Judaism, as distinct from Israelite Religion, arose. The Exilic community saw the emergence of prayer and the start of mass observance of Shabbat, as well as the massive rise in importance of Yom Kippur, and the process of codifying the Torah began in earnest. (i)

In 539 BCE, many Jews returned to Judah under the rule of the Persians. From that point until 70 CE, the religion practiced is known as Second Temple Judaism (j). It was during this time that sects of Judaism emerged, like the Essenes (of Dead Sea Scrolls fame), and the Pharisees (the precursors to the post-70 CE rabbis). (k). After the destruction of the Second Temple, most of the Jews living in Eretz Yisrael were forced out into what is now called the Diaspora. It is in the Diaspora that Rabbinic Judaism (the kind almost-universally practiced today) emerged.

As a last note, I will say that there is a definitive through-line from Israelite Religion to Second Temple Judaism to Rabbinic Judaism. Obviously there are political ramifications for all of this, which I won't get into now, and there's much more history after the Diaspora began that I would be happy to talk about elsewhere. But hopefully this is a satisfying explanation of the rise of Judaism from a secular standpoint. :)

Sources:

a. Mark, Joshua J. "Bronze Age Collapse." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 20, 2019.

b. Killebrew, Ann E., 'Early Israel’s Origins, Settlement, and Ethnogenesis', in Brad E. Kelle, and Brent A. Strawn (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible (2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 10 Nov. 2020).

c. “The Twelve Tribes of Israel.” (2013) Jewish Virtual Library.

d. Weingart, Kristin (2019) "'All These Are the Twelve Tribes of Israel:' The Origins of Israel’s Kinship Identity." Near Eastern Archaeology 82.1: 29–30.

e. Kalimi, Isaac (29 November 2018). Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel. Cambridge University Press. p. 32.

f. Master, Daniel M. “Phases in the History of the Kingdom of Israel.” Chapter. In The Social Archaeology of the Levant: From Prehistory to the Present, edited by Assaf Yasur-Landau, Eric H. Cline, and Yorke Rowan, 354–70. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

g. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Babylonian Captivity." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 31, 2025.

h. Brown, William. "Ancient Israelite & Judean Religion." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 13, 2017.

i. Silberman, L.H., Cohen, G.D., Vajda, G., Feldman, L.H., Greenberg, M., Novak, D., Gaster, T.H., Hertzberg, A., Dimitrovsky, H.Z., Baron, S.W., Pines, S. "Judaism." Encyclopedia Britannica.

j. Reed, Annette Yoshiko "Second Temple Judaism". In obo in Biblical Studies. Oxford Bibliographies.

k. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Essene." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 11, 2025.

[wolint]

CONNECTED BY GRACE

CONNECTED BY GRACE

2 Samuel 9

 

There are graces and graces! There are graces that everyone wishes they had, but such graces come by connection. Grace is the gift of God to everyone, by which He extends mercy, loving-kindness, and salvation to people. "Connect by grace" isn't a direct quote from the Bible, but it reflects a common theme in Christian theology. Grace, in the biblical context, refers to the unmerited favour and love that God extends to humanity. It's through grace that believers are able to establish a relationship with God.

When people talk about "connecting by grace," they often mean that their relationship with God and with others is founded on this divine grace. It emphasizes that this connection isn't based on human effort or merit, but on God's or man's generous and unconditional love.

Even the world, unbelievers, and people of other faiths all look for and need connections. We look for people or circumstances that will connect us to the right people, place, or group. From a worldly perspective, "connecting by grace" can be the fostering of relationships based on kindness, compassion, profession, status, understanding, and network rather than judgment or merit. Principles that can enhance personal and professional relationships in society mostly come from connections.

There are people all over the world who are living the kind of life described in Joshua 24:13-14 all because of having the right connections. Maybe because of what their parents had done for someone in the past, their family name and standing, or their clout. But whatever the reason, they are positioned in places they couldn’t have earned without connection. David was that connection for Mephibosheth, showing him grace because of his father, Jonathan. From many of David’s characteristics, we can say he was a man with a compassionate heart, but he didn’t know Mephibosheth, yet his compassion led him to seek him out.

David’s show of kindness in the Hebrew connotation speaks of covenant loyalty and faithfulness, which also describes God’s commitment to His people and can be used to describe devotion and loyalty between people.

Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, as mentioned in 2 Samuel 4:4. He was but five years old when his father and grandfather fell on Mount Gilboa. His nurse, hearing of this calamity, fled with him from Gibeah, the royal residence, and stumbling in her haste, he was thrown to the ground and maimed in both his feet, and ever after was unable to walk. He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found refuge in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar, where he was brought up.

Even though he was the grandson of a king, his life was not much to write about. Maimed, disabled, and unable to fend for himself, but David, because of the covenant of friendship between him and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20:12-17, sought out Jonathan’s descendant “for Jonathan’s sake.” For whose sake can we too be connected by grace?

All believers are certainly connected by grace for the Lord’s sake according to Psalm 23:3, 25:11, and 31:3.

The Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4:8-17 is a woman that was well connected by grace. Connection by grace always gets a word spoken on our behalf, as Elisha was willing to do for this woman in verse 13 because she had done something that was recognized and the prophet thought was rewardable.

How about you? What have you done that is recognizable and rewardable enough for someone to want to connect you by grace to higher power, for promotion, recommendations, and approval?

PRAYER: Lord the divine connector, position me with the right people that may connect me by grace to divine environment and people in Jesus’ name, amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT’L PRAYER MIN.

[f8ithgal]

Bible Reading. 3/8/25

Numbers 27-29 [Numbers 27:1-23 KJV] 1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these [are] the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the…

[walkwithgod07]

5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

2 Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

4 Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

5 The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.

6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord.

10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.

14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.

23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

31 So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

[dstrachan]

'VIEWS FROM THE EDGE' - w/c 27th January 2025

Ronan Furlong ‘The Prodigal Son’

Beverley Knight ‘Sista Sista’

Paul Orgel ‘1938-1945 Reminiscences Suite: V. Auschwitz’

Saint Sécaire ‘Need The Speed’

Caroline McKendrick ‘Oh God I Don’t Believe This’

U2 ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’

William Irvine ‘Poison Gas’

Ven ‘Lost Shards’

The Groundhogs ‘Earth Is Not Room Enough’

Yungblud ‘Polygraph Eyes’

Stillwater Junction ‘One Light Town’

The Jellybricks ‘Devil’s A Day Away’

Natalia & This Lunar Mission ‘Trees Falling’

Delerium ‘In The Deep (Clan of Xymox Remix)’

Alex Pester ‘This Empty Town’

Without Willow ‘Sink My Teeth’

Ainsley Hamill ‘Machir Bay’

Ainsley Hamill ‘O Ho-Ro ‘Ille Dhuinn’

Capercaillie ‘Ailein Duinn (Dark Alan)’

Runrig ‘Abhainn an T-Sluaigh’

Tannas ‘O Ho Na Ribeannan - Sean Triubhas - Faca Tu Saor An T-Sabhaidh’

Shawn Michael Perry ‘Once And For All’

Liam Gallagher ‘Once’

Queen ‘Now I’m Here’

Elvis Costello ‘Lipstick Vogue’

Apocalipstick ‘Making Rock Fun Again’

Zoe Ann ‘Lipstick Lies’

Husbands N Knives ‘Lipstick Graffiti’

Sonars ‘Lipstick Dinosaur’

[caos-y-misterios]

 Machir Bay - Islay

[chiveraccs]

Whisky: Kilchoman Small Batch

Parece mentira que siendo una destilería tan pequeña como lo es Kilchoman, produzcan tantos productos. Hasta hace unos meses no había investigado mucho y si bien he probado varios productos que hacen, que me han gustado mucho, pensaba que no hacían mucho más. En total mi exposición a la marca se limitaba al Machir Bay, el Sanaig, el Loch Gorm y el Madeira Cask, aunque éste último no lo he…

[fordecree7]

BIBLE TIME

NUMBERS 27

The Daughters of Zelophehad

27 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers.”

5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 And the Lord said to Moses, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

Bible Time -Numbers 27 Diane Beauford